


My Love Came From The Basement

by Aeera (Aeera_Writes), Aeera_Writes



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies Except Price, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood, Blood and mild violence, Brutal Murder, Crime cleanup, Felix | Isaac Gates Being a Dick, Happy Ending, I really hate tags, Lavernius Tucker Being a Dick, M/M, Maid Outfit(mentioned), Megan owns a Restaurant, Mentions of Death, Murder, Price is a murderer, dead bodies, slight stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 01:20:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30064479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeera_Writes/pseuds/Aeera, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeera_Writes/pseuds/Aeera_Writes
Summary: Being fresh out of college at the age of 23 with the graduation gift of debt, Felix wastes no time in getting himself a job. The best he could manage on short notice was that of a house cleaner, not that he had minded too much about it.Who knew his first job was going to be his most memorable in more ways than just one? With his creepy boss, and y’know, the man chained up in the basement surrounded by a bunch of dead bodies- wait,what?But...A job’s a job...Right?
Relationships: Felix | Isaac Gates/Locus | Samuel Ortez, Lavernius Tucker/Agent Washington(mentioned)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

# Chapter One

As a kid, no one _really_ tells you the struggles you’ll get to have once you’re an adult. No, they’d rather you live your life as a vulnerable and stupid child. Then, you get to the middle and high school years. They talk about life a bit more there, but they still paint the picture that you can do _anything_ you set your mind to and that only _you_ can get in the way of yourself. In high school, they offer scholarships, they offer all these _opportunities_ to get you somewhere after you’re gone. What they don’t tell you? The absolute crippling debt you can get from college if you were never given any help in the first place. The fucking rock bottom you can find yourself when you have no job, and barely a place to live in, and barely any money to feed yourself with. 

That’s how Isaac found himself now staring up at the looming and creepily bright building ahead of him. He graduated from the College of Chorus- whoop-de-fucking-doo by the way- and what was he immediately handed over beside his diploma? A fuck-ton of debt to pay off that’s what. Since the good old home life was shitty, he wasn’t getting any help in his payments either, and that entailed him finding the best job he could as soon as he walked out of the ceremonial halls of the damned school building. He remembered how he spent hours on his best friend’s couch, staring at the blaring screen of the laptop in his lap during the late hours of the night looking for any job that was willing to take a fresh out of college, inexperienced twenty-three-year-old.  
The best he came up with in the end? Becoming a house-cleaner.

The laughter of his friends can still be heard in his ear, which only annoyed the shit out of him more as he made his way up the steps of the house. The owner of the home, Aiden Price, had a very peculiar set of rules for him to follow when it came to him being hired to clean. First rule? He cleans during the night, and during the night only. It was the only time that Price wasn’t home, and according to him, the best time to clean since no one else would be there. Rule two? Some things remain untouched. That, Isaac could understand. People have their special little belongings that they’d rather clean themselves, after all, no one would know how to better care for them than yourself. Third rule? Don’t go in the basement, focus on the main floors of the house, which were a total of two. He definitely wasn’t going to complain about it either, less he had to clean for decent pay. Some of the other rules were rather minuscule, like, don’t take things from the fridge, don’t touch any personal belongings in Price’s room, shit like that.  
So why upon seeing the neatly handwritten note taped to the door of the building, was Price finally permitting him to go into the basement? The only instructions left were to clean the mess and leave the bags of trash by the cellar door which was located near the back of the room. There was a mention of an increase of pay, but not even a fucking amount had been listed, only that the pay would be given by tomorrow night. If Wu were there, he’d urge Isaac to just get back into his car and drive home, whatever it was, something felt off, and it just wasn’t worth risking it.  
Good thing Wu wasn’t there.

He did his usual routine first, deciding to save the basement for last since it was the newly added task. Price wasn’t a messy man, so his usual job was always the easiest. The most difficult task he’d do was the dishes. For some reason, Price simply couldn’t do them himself, so it was up to Isaac to clean every plate left in the sink. For one man, he surely ate plenty, though, it was also possible that he regularly had guests over as well. That was only the first floor too. The second floor’s worst task would always be the bathroom. Not that Price left it in shitty condition- hah, _shitty_ \- He just hated cleaning the bathroom, or any bathroom in that case. In fact, it was probably the worst room he would ever have to deal with. 

His cleaning was done in two hours, still leaving him plenty of time for the basement, to just do whatever the fuck he wanted, but the sooner he got it done, the sooner he could get home and get some decent sleep. He dug around in a few of the kitchen cabinets, looking for the cleaning supplies he would need to bring with him. He didn’t know what the condition of the basement was, so he saw it as a good idea to just bring everything with him as a just-in-case kind of thing. It’s good to be overprepared than not prepared at all he thought, resting the broom over his shoulder as if it were some sort of bat. 

Knowing the house from the inside out at this point, he knew fairly well which door led to the basement, the _only_ door he couldn’t go through until now. The handle was rather cold, and he couldn’t tell if it was from the temperature of the house, or just the fact that it was rarely touched. Usually, it was locked as well (he may have or may have not tested it out the first night of working there), but now it opened up with ease, uncovering the steep set of stairs leading down from the dark. There wasn’t any switch near the top, meaning the basement had a rather fucked design of lighting and that he’d have to waste who knows how much battery to look for the switch at the bottom with his phone’s flashlight. He was able to afford a new one at this point, but the only thing keeping him from doing so was that he was waiting for his contract on the current one to expire. Once it expired, he could get some cash off of the price for renewing it with a better phone. Hence, shitty battery life until then, and nothing drained the battery faster than the goddamn flashlight.  
He sighed lightly as he fished his phone out from his pocket, pressing the button to be greeting with his lock screen. It was a picture of him, Megan, and Wu after their college graduations, three different colored gowns for the three different colleges. Wu had gone to the Amnesia College, majoring in cybersecurity, while Megan went to Quarry’s College of Chefs, to, well, cook and shit. They had all gone out for drinks to celebrate, with Wu paying for it all (Unlike Isaac, Wu’s parents actually gave a shit about him) and Megan later paying for the late-night meal (her parents gave a shit about her too, but she’s an angel so he didn’t expect any less). He always did appreciate the two of them never judging him when he couldn’t pay for things or had to crash at their place just to sleep. One day he’d be able to pay them back or treat them to something, he just needed to get his shit in check. 

The flashlight on the phone, despite the phone being the shittiest thing he’s had to hold, was rather bright, lighting up almost the whole staircase upon being turned on. At least he wasn’t going to bust his ass in the process. He didn’t like the creak of the stairs beneath him. It felt like something that was supposed to belong in a cliche horror movie, where either he falls through, or he alerts the killer in the house where he is. The railing was thin and rusty, meaning if he did fall through, or just fall in general, he shouldn’t even bother to try hanging on it for support unless he wanted the thing to come down with him. Leave it to the basement to be the most generic of creepy rooms. 

Despite his worries, the basement was pretty quiet. The only noise being his feet hitting the final step before meeting the concrete ground. Though, it smelled _horrible_. He couldn’t identify the stench at all.  
“God, what fucking thing came in here, died, came back, and died again?” He muttered to himself, directing the light of his phone to try and find the switch to the room as he pulled his shirt up to cover his nose. It wasn’t _that_ effective, but it helped a little. 

The switch looked as old as the stairs and railing were, located directly beneath the staircase, almost covered by old items. There was a T.V, an old bookcase, and something else he couldn’t identify at the moment right behind it. Oh, there was also a bunch of cobwebs. If he got bit by a spider or a spider was in his vicinity, he was just going to leave, find a new job, maybe new clothes while he was at it. He reached over, mumbling a quiet string of curses as he touched the gross switch and flipped the light on. As soon as the light flickered on, he quickly shut the flashlight of his phone off and shoved it back into his pocket. 

He turned to study the room he was now in, seeing what he needed to clean, the normal shit he would have done if not for the sight he was greeted with behind him. 

To say the walls of the back section were painted red was an understatement, and he finally knew what the horrid stench was, though it was also a surprise he wished he didn’t have to see. Unrecognizable faces stared at him as their mangled bodies were stacked on top of one another, acting as a horridly built fountain as blood still trickled down from fingers, to legs, and to the floor where a larger puddle surrounding the whole thing was. How long had they been there? And what the _fuck_ did that to them? He felt sick, the burn of his dinner in his throat as he tried to gulp it all back. What the actual fuck was he looking at? What the fuck did his boss think sending him down there? What the fuck was he going to _do?_

Something moved from behind him, from behind the old bookcase he had seen just seconds before as a low growl reached his ears. It was only his imagination, right? He didn’t _actually_ hear that, right? Hands touched his shoulders, and almost in the blink of an eye, he had turned around, the grip of the broom tight in his hands, and hit whoever it was as hard as he could with it.  
The person obviously hadn’t expected him to hit them, to defend himself, seeing as how they stumbled back, hitting their head against the underside of the stairs with an angered grunt. As soon as the hands had left him, he jumped back, pressing himself as much as he could against the opposite wall with the broom defensively held out in front of him. 

It was a large male, taller than him by probably two or three inches with shackles around his wrists and one around his neck. Once his face was uncovered after he had been holding onto his head, he was greeted with the sight of an x-shaped scar in the middle of his face, and very angry silver eyes. There was dried blood on him, on his hands, torso, and face. If it weren’t for the current situation they had met in, and if he wasn’t covered in, you know, blood and chains, he would have considered the guy pretty cute. 

“Listen, man, I don’t- I don’t care about the freaky BDSM shit you have going on down here- really, I don’t, but I’m just here to clean, get paid, and then go the fuck home. So- so can you please just, not fucking touch me with your bloody fucking hands? And preferably stay in your creepy fucking corner there? Please?” He was trying to appear unbothered in his words, but just the sight of the shit beside him and the man in front of him, it was difficult to. 

The man only stared at him, and he couldn’t tell if he was actually angry or if he just had a heavy case of resting-bitch-face. He didn’t want to look any longer to find out. Tearing his eyes from the male in front of him, he looked over to the body fountain. How the fuck was he even going to begin cleaning that up? He supposed he would have to get the bodies themselves into trash bags, but he _really_ didn’t want to put his hands on them. The only thing that could help his conscious was gloves, so at least his skin wasn’t touching them. He gulped as he placed down his cleaning supplies, taking the rubber gloves and slipping them on. He stared at his hands for a bit before he decided on grabbing another pair of gloves and slipping those on as well. The less he had to feel, the better. 

A job was a job, he could do this. He could go home, sleep, and pretend it never happened afterward. Yeah, that was a decent plan, he just had to, well, actually do it. He pulled out one of the cleaning masks that was given to him. It was originally to protect him from the smell of all the chemicals, but now it was to protect him from the smell of the dead. Once the mask was on the trash bags were next. How many would he need? How many bodies could he fit in just one bag? How much easier could he make this for himself?  
Eyes bore into the back of his head. Did the fucker _have_ to stare?

It would be easy to start from the top and work his way to the bottom of the pile. The bottom was probably the most tangled, so it would make sense to leave it for last.  
Was he stalling? Yes, anyone watching him- besides the one man that actually is- would say so. Why did Price decide to make him do this? Was this a punishment? Did he not clean the bathroom enough? Scrub the plates of the kitchen enough? An easier answer would have been to just fire him, _not_ whatever the fuck he was now forced to be doing. Was he even being forced? Would Price do anything to him if he simply didn’t clean it? Would Price have him arrested? Or just hire some other poor fucker to clean it up? Would Price send whoever the chained man was to go kill him? Would- he should probably just clean instead of wait around to find out.

He took a deep breath and forced his legs to move forward. He was shaking, he knew he was, and he was sure the other man knew it too, but at least he was moving, and at least he was reaching his hand out to grab the arm of the first body to pull into the bag.  
As soon as his hand had touched the arm, he almost started crying right then and there. It was cold, and even he could feel it through the two-layers of rubber gloves on his hand. The body looked so pale in comparison to his own complexion, and it only made him feel worse the more he thought about it. The sound of the other man’s grunt behind him reminded him to breathe. When was he holding his breath? _Why_ was he holding his breath? Was he _trying_ to join these bodies on the pile? 

The bag felt heavy in his hand as the body was pulled in. First one done, he could do this. He grabbed the leg of the second, fighting his urge to drop it and run, and pulled it into the bag as well. He simply kept repeating this method until he had four bags full, three bodies in each. All he would have to do is move them to the cellar door as instructed, and then clean up the blood. Despite his twig-like body, he heaved the first bag over his shoulder and trudged his way over. As the note said, it was in the back of the basement. He dropped the bag, wincing at the thud it had given off before walking back to get the others. They were equally just as heavy and a pain in the ass to carry. 

How do you even get blood out of _concrete?_

His eyes flickered over to the man watching him. He was sitting down now with his back against the bookshelf, eyes still heavily focussed on him. Shaking his head gently, he pulled his phone from his pocket. It was already at sixty-three percent. A frown tugged at his lips as he typed in how to clean the blood, crouching in front of his supplies hoping he had what he would need to do so. According to the internet, he would only need some hydrogen peroxide, and he was pretty pleased to see he had not only one, but two full bottles of it among his things. He finished reading the article, not wanting to miss out on any of the things on the ‘don’t do’ list and accidentally poison himself or something before he set out to start working. 

He popped open the cap of the first bottle, and simply started pouring it over the bloodied concrete, making sure to spread it around and get as much as he could. The smell of the peroxide had quickly reached his nostrils despite the mask, and he was grateful for the better smell, even if it was straight-up chemicals. He made sure the bottle was emptied before he tossed it to the side and opened up the other bottle and started splashing it onto the walls.  
The man growled from where he sat, causing Isaac to glance behind him.

“What, don’t like the smell? Get over it man, you wouldn’t have to smell it if you didn’t make such a fucking mess. I mean, what are you, five? Using your hands for the first time?”  
He knows he probably shouldn’t be talking in such a way to the one who obviously caused these bodies but at this point, he was at the calm stage of his fear. “Let me guess, you also need me to clean you, huh? Well, how about this, I toss you a wet rag and you clean yourself up like a big boy, eh?” He questioned, finishing up the bottle. He picked up the one he tossed and brought it back to his things, grabbing one of the rags and dipping it into the bucket of water. Once it was soaked, he turned and tossed it over to the man. It smacked him in the face, causing Isaac to laugh. 

“Go on now, clean yourself up. Let me know when you need it soaked again.” He then said, glancing to his phone as he set the fifteen-minute timer to let the peroxide settle in.  
“You got a name or something by the way? Or are you just the boogeyman below the stairs?”

Met with only silence he huffed. He needed something to distract himself with or else he was just going to find himself panicking again. “You know, when I first signed on to this job, I wasn’t aware that I would be assisting in...murder? Or fucking cannibalism, with how those poor fuckers were. Price said he was going to up my pay, but honestly? I think I should get more than what he’s already planning to give me. I mean, maybe a new mattress will make me forget what I had to fucking look at and touch. Sure, I majored in criminology, but that’s about all the shit in a criminal’s head. If I wanted to touch dead bodies and shit I would have majored in Forensics.” He glanced over to the man, who was simply holding the wet rag in his hands, staring at it. “You really need me to clean you, don’t you? Fucking hell man.” He grumbled, walking over to him and snatching the rag away. 

“Give me your hands.” He then demanded, crouching down in front of him. Silver eyes met with his own before hands were held out to him. A part of him wanted to flinch, but he couldn’t show weakness. Weakness just meant he was an easy kill. He grabbed the wrist of one of the hands and started his scrubbing. At least dried blood on hands was easier to clean. Soon enough, both hands were scrubbed, and he returned to the bucket to soak the rag again. He set the rag into the bucket but then decided to just bring the bucket over with him. Crouching back in front of the other, he pulled the rag out and got to cleaning the man’s torso. Despite the blood, it was quick to see how muscled he was. No wonder that many people suffered at his hands, this guy was pretty fucking ripped. 

“All that’s left now is your face okay?” He muttered, dipping the rag into the water for a final time before bringing it up to the man’s jaw. It didn’t bother him at that moment that he was practically staring death right in the face. Death seemed calm, death let him touch, so he was okay, right? As long as he doesn’t do any wrong moves, he’ll be okay and death would be clean. 

He pulled the rag back after a minute or so, looking to see if there was anything left before dropping the rag into the bucket, the water now tinted as a shade of red. “There, all clean.” He hummed, going to stand to see how much time was left before his alarm would go off. He was going to. A hand had grasped at his wrist, roughly tugging him back down. This was it, wasn’t it? He was going to die right then and there? He wasn’t going to be able to bother Wu again as he tried to work, he wasn’t going to be able to eat any more of Megan’s cooking, he wouldn’t even be able to see his A’ryn again, would he? He shut his eyes tightly. There was no running, no struggling, he was caught, and he wouldn’t be able to fight. Damn his skinny ass, damn him for skipping those weight-lifting classes in highschool, damn- why wasn’t he dead yet? Why was his head pressed against solid skin while arms were wrapped around him?  
Slowly, he opened his eyes to see what the hell was going on. He was being hugged. _Hugged_. Hugged by the man who most likely killed those people, hugged by the man he was cleaning blood from just seconds before, hugged by the man that was probably going to kill him as soon as he had flipped the light switch on. 

What the fuck was he going to do? Try to pull away? Or accept his fate here in the arms of the larger male? It didn’t seem like he was going to be let go any time soon, so should he just enjoy being alive here? The beeping of his alarm soon sounded, causing an angry huff from above him. He was then released and gently shoved back as the man turned around, for once not looking at him. _Weird_ was all Isaac could think as he straightened himself out and turned off the alarm. At least he could finish his job and go home now. 

Who knew peroxide could do wonders? Though, he was out of the only bottles he had, but at least now the blood was much easier to clean off. After about a half hour more of simply wiping the floor and walls, the area was basically spotless. He wiped his forehead of sweat, cleaning up all his items and packing them away. He brought the broom back over his shoulder as he looked over to the hunched over figure of the man. Should he announce that he was leaving? Would the man even care?

He found his legs moving before he had realized it. Standing behind the other, he pursed his lips slightly as he reached out, placing his hand on the man’s head and giving a sort of awkward pat. “I’m- uh, I’m leaving now, okay? Try not to make a mess next time, that was a real pain in the ass, and not the good kind.”  
Once again the other didn’t reply, but that was okay with him. He took his hand back, and made his way up the stairs, glancing down at the bottom hesitantly before shutting the door behind him. 

Before he fully left the building, he made sure to leave a note for Price about needing more peroxide, even leaving the two empty bottles next to the note to prove his point. 

After that? He fucked off. Went straight home, no stops, no side-trips, nothing. He went home, and went immediately to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Just as Price had promised, that night, as he stands outside of the house once more, a notification had gone off on his phone that money had been placed into his bank. After the shit he had to do yesterday, he immediately checked the amount. Almost two-thousand had just been dropped into his account. He couldn’t even believe it. His usual pay was only fucking fifteen bucks per hour, and now he just got dropped two-fucking-thousand? Maybe going through the mental trauma of mangled bodies was worth it.  
As the day before, he made his way up the steps, and another note had greeted him at the door. It was the usual rules, before he read that, once again, he was permitted into the basement to clean, leaving him to know exactly what he had to fucking do. There were also mentions of more bottles of peroxide waiting for him inside, and an overall thank you message for going through the trouble of cleaning up the hell of a mess that was left for him yesterday. Besides that, there were no other mentions of what he had to clean, no mentions of the dead bodies, literally nothing. So why was he still here? Still cleaning for him?

He pushed the door open with a tired look. Even though he was able to knock out as soon as he had gotten into his bed, it was probably the worst night’s sleep he had ever gone through. All he could remember was the blank faces of those bodies looking at him, watching him as he covered them up one by one and tied them away in plastic bags to be thrown out like mere garbage. Hell, A’ryn probably thought his owner was finally going insane. 

Despite his lack of good sleep, he carried on with his work. Cleaning the dishes, cleaning the rooms, cleaning the godforsaken bathroom, everything he could. Even if he didn’t have to clean it, he cleaned it. Anything to get his mind off of things or the things he would once again have to look at. He was disappointed when he didn’t have much more to clean besides the basement itself. He left his supplies by the basement door the night before, so everything he could possibly need was there, including the new bottles of peroxide, which was probably so generously given to him by Price himself. 

Just like before, the door was unlocked, and still cold as ever. The only new difference was that the light flickered on its own, or a certain male was down there and turned it on for him.  
“Hey boogeyman, thanks for saving me a trip down the stairs on my ass, and more phone battery.” He said aloud, hoping he had been heard as he slowly made his way down the old and still creaking stairs. If he made a note about them to Price, would the man have them fixed? It’s bad enough the murder basement was something he had to deal with, but really the staircase was no help towards his nerves.  
Though, when he hit the bottom, there was no rancid smell, and from what he could see, no bodies either for him to clean up so...what the hell was he down there to clean?

A small nudge at his ankle caught his attention. He looked down to see what had done it, and it was a foot, and connected to the foot was the rest of the silver-eyes male. There may have not been any bodies around, but he was covered in blood _again_. Hell, he wasn’t even in any pants this time, just long, black boxers. The blood was on his legs, his arms, hands, torso, and face.  
“What the hell?” He huffed, setting down his things at his own feet. “How in the ever-living fuck did you manage this kind of mess? And no pants either? Really?” He frowned, sitting on his knees as he already pulled the water bucket close, grabbing at the rag draped over one of the other cleaning products. 

He was still given no response, hell, the man wouldn’t even look at him, instead staring at the floor beside him.  
“I’m going to clean what I did yesterday.” He stated, bring the now damp rag to the male’s arm to clean the blood off from him. The other didn’t move, remaining still as Isaac worked his way around. 

“I slept pretty shittily last night, y’know? Seeing their faces and all. Saying things I couldn’t hear while all I could do was shove them into bags.” He started speaking, just to fill in the silence, “Did you always have to look at them like that? How long do you think till I get used to it? I mean, criminology classes often merged with the other law enforcement classes, and you get to see some fucked up shit, but to see that in person? To _touch_ that shit? It’s really fucking wild.”  
He was now cleaning the man’s face again, refraining from asking him to look at him since he clearly didn’t want to. Could he say something that _would_ make him look?

“Do you think he’ll kill me if one night I just bring in some bolt cutters and get you out of here? I thought about it this morning, once everything _really_ settled in. You can’t possibly actually like it here can you? He keeps you chained like some animal, and probably doesn’t let you out, right?” He asked, a frown on his face as he could only imagine just how long the other had been here while he was cleaning, unknowing of his existence all those times before. “I was shitty enough to leave you here yesterday, but really I just couldn’t process it all. I mean, you can come with me, and you can hide at my friend’s place, since Price knows where I live and all that fun shit. You can stay there, and they can get you help, and if I’m not dead at that point, get Price too.”

Why wouldn’t he look at him? He sighed lightly as he dipped the rag back under the water, “Here, I’m sure you would much rather clean your legs instead.” He grabbed the male’s hand, placing the wet rag in it, “I’ll be sitting over there if you need me.”

A hand had grabbed at him as soon as he started moving to stand, and the rag was shoved back into his hand. 

“What, you want me to do it?” He asked, brows now furrowed as he looked back to the silver-eyed man. He was _still_ refusing to look at him. “I’m not going to do it if you don’t say anything, and if Price is making you do this, then I want to hear what you want, not what he wants. Man, what does he fucking take me for, some fucking creep? I swear to god if I come by tomorrow and-” 

“Yes.”

He blinked. That definitely didn’t come from him. Did…? “What?”

“Yes, I want you to do it.”  
He spoke quickly, and almost hushed, as if he wasn’t even supposed to be making a noise in the first place. To say he was startled to hear the other’s voice was an understatement. It was deep, and honestly fit how he looked, and after talking to himself most of the time, it was weird to actually hear another voice for once in the damned basement. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He hesitated for a moment longer before just doing as assured and started cleaning the male’s legs. “Would you come with me if I did bring bolt cutters?” He then asked, glancing up to the other as he dragged the wet cloth over his thigh, scrubbing away the blood as it appeared. The man looked to him, only for a moment before looking away again and remaining quiet. “Ass…” He muttered, shaking his head quietly to himself as he continued until the blood from his legs was gone as well. 

“Since there’s nothing left for me to do, I’m going home.” He stated, dropping the cloth back into the bucket as he moved to get going.  
Once again, hand had grabbed him and pulled him closer, arms wrapping around him and holding on to him. He wasn’t as scared this time as he was before, but being grabbed while nothing was being said was still a bit nerving.

“Locus.”

“Locus?” He repeated, looking to said-male above him, “I gotta say, if that’s your real name, that kinda sucks. It’s cute as a nickname though.”

The other only huffed, letting him go to continue getting ready to leave. Isaac couldn’t help but laugh a little at his reaction.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? If Price doesn’t let me in, I’ll just pick the lock, and you’ll just have to keep it a secret. I’ll bring you some snacks too.” He placed his hand on Locus’s head, patting it just like he did before. “Seeya Locs.”

And with that, he left, leaving a note about the stairs just to see what would happen before walking out of the door, and heading home. 

Just like he had said, the next night he brought snacks for Locus to try out. They had gone through a couple, like chips, crackers, candy, that kind of stuff. In the end Locus’s favorite turned out to be the M&Ms, which had looked so tiny in his hands.  
As for his actual job regarding the basement, it only ever alternated between two things. Cleaning up Locus, or cleaning up the dead. It was never both at the same time like it had been the first night. As much as he hated the fact, the more he had to clean down there, the more he had gotten used to doing it. He only wore one set of gloves instead of two. The bags were getting easier to carry, and the comfort level between him and Locus had definitely grown as well. He talked more to him too, though still he was rather quiet. That was fine with Isaac though, he didn’t mind carrying the conversation for Locus, and Locus didn’t seem to mind either. Unlike Wu, Locus never told him to shut up, or didn’t make any sign that he wanted Isaac to shut up, and as days had passed, Isaac opened up more about his life to him. Telling him about Megan and Wu, how the two of them had started dating in highschool and how Isaac constantly teased them about making him the third wheel of their group, aswell as how he was actually Megan’s man of honor for their wedding just the year before while they were all in their last year of college. He told him about his time in the College of Chorus, and how he was stuck with the most annoying roommate ever, a teal-hoodied boy named Tucker who constantly let his blonde-headed boyfriend into their dorm despite Isaac telling him to knock it the fuck off. He also shared some photos of his pet, A’ryn, to him, wasting no time in bragging about his well-behaved flemish giant.  
And despite his literal restsing-bitch face (Which Isaac was happy to confirm it _was_ just his face and not that he was actually angry), Locus always seemed interested in what he was saying, or at least he pretended very well to have an interest. 

Then, days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and Isaac would be able to confidently say that they were now friends. 

The only thing that was still a problem was Locus being chained and in a basement. Isaac could only give him so much of the outside world, and he hated that he couldn’t give more. So, almost everyday of those months, he brought up the bolt cutters again, he brought up Locus staying with his friends, and he brought up Locus just leaving with him. In the end he never got an answer as Locus would simply ignore it until Isaac changed the topic. It was frustrating, but until Locus gave him an answer, he couldn’t find himself to do anything with Price over his shoulder. The most he could do was at least make the basement more interesting for him while he was there. 

“Hey, Locs, by the way,” Isaac remembered as he stood, nudging the cleaning supplies over to a safer corner by the stairs as he had just finished cleaning up said-male again, “I’m not going to be here tomorrow or the day after. Megan just opened up her own restaurant, named it something cliche too, “Wu’s dinner and dine”, and we’re taking two days off to celebrate, and with two days, it means two nights too.” 

“It’s only two days?”

“Only two, and then I’ll be back to grace you with my company,” He grinned, tucking his phone in to his pocket, “Try not to miss me too much, especially since you’ll have my undivided attention again once I’m back.”

“Am I that much of an attention whore to you?”

Isaac placed a hand on his chest, feigning hurt, “What? Of course not!” A smile quickly made its way to his face, “Though, I wouldn’t mind it if you were.” He watched as Locus’s face softened before their eyes had met. Isaac gave him a reassuring smile that he would be back, a promise, before he finally left, leaving Locus by himself in the basement once again. 

Hours had passed before a set of familiar, and unwanted, footsteps made their way down the stairs. “Still nothing towards development?” He was asked. He refused to look as two feet were in his line of sight now. “I suppose I might have been wrong in my analysis of his behavior once put into stressful situations. He takes more out of cowardice when it comes to helping someone such as yourself, but plenty of self-preservation when it comes to the possible threat of his own life. How...selfish.”

He remained quiet, now staring at the black dress shoes in front of him. He was afraid that if he said something, _anything_ , about Isaac, that it would be used against the poor male. 

“You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you? Interesting…” The other trailed off before crouching down in front of Locus, “How about we make a deal?”

“What could you possibly give me?” Locus found himself asking, lifting his heavy eyes to look Price in the face. 

All Price did was flash his calming smile, a facade for the real intentions behind it as he placed a hand on Locus’s shoulder. “I would assume you would like your freedom, would you not? You’ve been kept away from the outside world for how long now? A year? Two?”

“And what would I have to do to get it?”

“It’s rather simple, really. All you would have to do is kill him.”

Of course. _Of course_ that was what Price was going to have him do. If he had been given this deal the second day he had encountered Isaac, he probably would have been able to. But now? There was simply no way he could. You don’t just kill the person you can still feel the gentle touches of, you don’t kill the person who’s shared their life with you, who trusted you enough to share those things, you just don’t. 

“I’m sure he’s told you that he won’t be here for the next two days, so you have that amount of time to think about your choice. If you say yes then-” Price held up the silver key to his shackles. It was right there, right in front of him, but still out of reach, “-this will be all yours. If you say no, then the nights will continue as they have been, with your freedom as out of reach as it had been.” 

“No.”

“You sound certain in your answer. I just told you that you still have two days to think over your options-”

“No, I can’t.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?”

“Both.” Locus replied, an Isaac-styled grin tugging at his lips. “I can’t kill him, and I won’t kill him. I am certain of that.”

A frown appeared on Price’s face as he tucked the key back where he had originally pulled it from. “I had hoped your time with him would have taught you to be a little more selfish, yet you fail in that aspect as well. I’m rather disappointed, though I should be grateful as it opens new opportunities of testing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly as I’ve said, but I can understand your need for specifics. Maybe for the first test, we’ll see just how well you react to Isaac actually making his trip through these stairs. Or better yet, how well he’d do in keeping his neck intact after tripping and making his way to the bottom.”

Locus gritted his teeth as he watched Price’s face, looking for the one sign that he was just bluffing. But he wasn’t. Locus couldn’t find any hint of a lie in his eyes and that pissed him off. Price was just within arm’s reach, he could do it, and he could free himself.

“I’m sure killing him myself would bare much better results, especially if I just left him down here with you to still keep you company.”

Yeah, he definitely could do this. So, he did. 

He couldn’t exactly remember _how_ he did it, but seeing Price’s body slump to the ground beneath him was a rather satisfying sight. The next best satisfying thing was hearing the shackles from his arms and neck fall to the ground as well.  
Freedom was much better now that he knew exactly who he was going to go see. First, he would need new clothes, or find his old ones after cleaning himself up. 

Would Isaac even recognize him outside of the basement? It was the only place he ever saw Locus, so would he even be seen in the outside world by him?

Isaac would still be busy for the next two days though, and he didn’t want to interrupt that, especially with how excited he had seemed talking about it. He could bring himself to wait for two days. Better yet, he could go find the restaurant on the second day, and follow Isaac home that night. 

That seemed like a perfect plan to him.


	3. Chapter 3

A whole day without Isaac proved to be rather...boring. Sure, he spent most of the time looking for something that would fit him, but once he did find that something (he was already in jeans, just needed a shirt), he was met once again with silence. Then, the second day had arrived. He managed to have hacked into Price’s computer the night before and used that time to look for where that restaurant was located. At first, he couldn’t find anything about it, which seemed odd to him first, but he shrugged it off as it simply not making big news yet.

After still coming up with nothing, he resorted to putting Isaac’s name into the search engine, hoping the talkative male would have said _something_ about it online. Fortunately, he had on basebook, but it didn’t seem like anything good with how lengthy the paragraph was.  
After some skimming, it was just on how pissed off he was on how the first day of opening no one showed and how he hated seeing how disappointed his friend Megan was. It devolved into talks of rather...violent things, things to the point that Locus found himself surprised at. Finally, near the end the address of the place was there, once again making it clear that he would appreciate it if people showed up. 

Hours had passed before Locus had actually gotten up from his seat to leave, at first contemplating what time would be more ideal to show up. Thinking more on his plan had made him realize he didn’t even know _when_ Isaac would be home, or if the male had planned to go home at all. If he stayed too long, he was bound to be caught or have the cops called on him for looking like a creep. He couldn’t distract himself though, he needed to be focused because Isaac was probably going to be in a worse surprise if he waited till he would come back for work.  
Everything would be alright though, and he would make sure of it. He was certain that Isaac would be happy to see him outside of the basement, so he really had no reason to doubt himself. 

The walk wasn’t too bad, though it was definitely weird to be on his feet for that long again. Everything was pretty bright as well, even if it was the afternoon, his eyes still weren’t done adjusting.  
Was _everything_ this loud? The people, the local rodents, he swore he could hear it all. That basement had really fucked him up. 

“Listen, Tucker, I need you to just- grab your little fucking platoon of friends you got- hell, have blondie grab his friends too- and just get their asses over here, okay?”

He immediately perked up at the familiar voice. He had been walking for a little over half an hour now, and he finally managed to find the restaurant. A part of him was happy the other was loud enough for him to hear since he was still just across the street from the actual building. He glanced around, looking anywhere to sit down that he wouldn’t look suspicious. The only reasonable place he had found was the bus stop that had a small bench underneath a rain-hood. 

“Why? Well, I’ll tell you fucking why. Megan over here is about five seconds away from crying and I swear to fucking god if I see a single tear shed I’m going to start physically shoving these stupid little flyers down people’s throats as they walk by and you’ll be hearing about me all over the goddamn news tomorrow. So, if you would like to save me from the hassle of murdering people for old times sake, you’ll do me this favor and get your little crew, and whoever has their own little crew, down here. I don’t even give a shit if Mikey brings his dumb old dog, or if you bring your little brat here either. Or hell, the other orange fuck and his stick bug of a partner can bring their kid too.”

Was Isaac always this colorful with his words? Sure, he’s cursed quite a bit in front of him, but this seemed entirely new to him. Who the hell was Mikey? Isaac had only mentioned Tucker, Megan, and Wu, but never a Mikey. Blondie was probably Tucker’s boyfriend, but who was the ‘other orange fuck’ with a stick bug of a partner? A frown had found its way to his face as he watched the other start pacing in his steps, circular in motion, but still remaining in front of the restaurant doors. 

“You want me to do _what?_ ”

Isaac had paused in his motion, a mix between shock and irritation etched onto his face. 

“You know what, fine, _fine_ , just get the fuck down here okay? And scratch the kids coming, I don’t want to traumatize them _just_ yet. Yeah, whatever, see you in a bit.”

After that, Isaac had hung up the phone, rubbing his face as if it would rid him of his anger before turning towards the door with a bright smile, pushing it open with a bright and loud “Guess what?”

Even though the other was clearly angered and upset, simply just watching him being more lively caused Locus’s heart to start pounding in his chest. Isaac was never angry with him, so it was definitely a sight to physically and verbally see and hear him making such threats and making such expressions on his face, and just to see how quickly he seemed to have calmed down was certainly a sight to behold. He regretted not breaking out of his prison of a basement sooner. How different would things have been? Would he have been there, just now there, with him? Would he have been there to help set things up? To hand out those little flyers? He wiped his hands on his pants, staring down at the ground. Why had he waited so long to do so? To see himself what Price would do? To see if one day, Isaac really would have brought the bolt cutters? So many things he could have know if he had taken just the slightest different action. It was frustrating to think about. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed while he was buried in his thoughts, but soon he was snapped out of them when multiple new voices were heard from across the street. 

“Took you long enough, come on in.”

It was Isaac again, now leaning against the restaurant door looking at the group of people in front of him before he had moved to let them in. He did his best to study each of the new faces as they walked by. There was a large, bald male with what looked to be a tattoo on the bad of his head. A rather...preppy? Blonde male wearing pink had bounced his way inside, dragging a dark-haired male wearing bright purple glasses behind him. An older, yet loud male in red- a red-headed woman. There were too many faces to get an account for, too many for him to get that much of a decent look at. 

“F-Fucking- Mikey- Caboose! What did I say about hugging me?”

Isaac was lifted up into a tight hug by another large male who was much less intimidating than the first with messy hair on top of his head. 

“...To not squeeze you when I do- but I’m just really excited! I’m sorry, I’ll try to remember next time!”

He could see Isaac roll his eyes before ruffling the other’s hair, messing it up even more as he was put back down onto the ground. Locus didn’t quite like him. 

“Here” Another male had said, pushing clothing into Isaac’s arms with a grin on his face, “Remember, you serve David and I in this.”

“Honestly? Fuck you.” Isaac had said, studying the outfit he had been given, “But I guess thanks for coming and bringing your friends, you too blondie.”

“Listen, I can’t just pass down the opportunity to help someone out and humiliate you at the same time.” 

“Again, fuck you. There’s a reason you’re ‘La-turd-ius fucker’ on my phone. Now let’s get your asses inside, alright?”

“Whatever Felix-” “-He means thank you, for inviting us.”  
The blonde had interrupted the first one before they had finally made their way inside to join the others. 

Felix? Was that a nickname of Isaac’s? He never mentioned it before to him, unless it was a name only few could call him? Or did Isaac just prefer Locus calling him by his real name? When had his hands become so sweaty? There he was again, wiping them off on his pants. Was he nervous? Nervous to finally be able to freely walk up to Isaac? To be able to be next to him without chains holding him down? Or was he nervous about how Isaac would react? He did kill his boss, after all, meaning that he would have to find a new job. He should have thought more on it- he really should have.  
He glanced over to the restaurant doors. Should he get it over with? Or just wait? It was their night, they were celebrating, so he shouldn’t, he knew he shouldn’t…But what was he going to do until then? He didn’t have the laptop on him, figuring he wouldn’t get a signal anyway. He didn’t have a phone either. All he had was himself and the clothes on his back to get him warm, which was proving to be useful as it only got colder the more the sun had set. Maybe he _should_ have waited for Isaac to have just returned to the house the next day, but then his mind wandered to what he would have done to keep his mind busy while waiting till Isaac arrived that potential night. Either option he would have been left unhappily waiting for Isaac while trying to do something so he wouldn’t kill himself with boredom. 

He sighed. A nap was always an option. There wasn’t anyone around this late at night, so he would be unbothered, and he was sure to be alerted for when Isaac would be leaving since the other male’s voice would no doubt slice through the silence. Not only that, but he had basically trained himself to react to the other. When still down in the basement, he always managed to wake up from naps when he heard the other call out for him from the top of the stairs, or when he heard the familiar and welcomed creaking of the steps. He never failed to wake up just in time for him. The only downside was the bench was the opposite of comfortable, with barely any support for his upper back. He definitely wasn’t going to lie down on the bench, that would only bring possible attention and the misunderstanding of him being homeless- which, the more he thought on it, he actually was, wasn’t he? He would be able to warrant a stay at Price’s home for a while, but eventually his disappearance would cause suspicion for others and overall bring more trouble for him. He hated how he acted so impulsively, but he also knew it was for a good reason, making him basically stuck in the middle with how he felt about the actions that had led him there.

A nap sounded pretty good to him, anything to keep him from overthinking his choices any further. He would have to make do with the shitty bus-stop bench.

\--

“Think the assholes on basebook would get a kick outa this outfit?” Isaac questioned, a leg crossed over the other as he leaned against the counter, scrolling through the different pictures he had taken of himself that night. 

“Knowing the kind of people you get in your DMs? Probably.” Wu had replied as he walked out from the kitchen, wiping his hands on one of their hand towels. “Aren’t you going to change out of that? Everyone already left.”

“Aww, don't you like the view?” He playfully pouted, picking the best out of the pictures before posting them. Once that was finished, he placed the phone down beside him and finally put his attention on Wu. 

“Sorry Isaac, I’m a man of loyalty, you should have been a little quicker than Megan if you wanted my attention.” 

“Megannn, why’d you go and pick him again? What happened to the whole ‘If you love one you love the other?’. He won’t even tell me I look nice!” 

Megan only laughed, shaking her head as she sat herself upon the counter on the other side of Isaac, “Come on Isaac, you don’t really need Mason to tell you you look good, do you? What happened to that blazing self-confidence of yours?” She asked, swinging her legs slightly. 

“Oh please, that confidence will never go away. I’m just saying that Wu has some serious shit he’s keeping from me, and one of them is admitting that I’m one of the coolest things to get a look at.” He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he stuck his tongue out at his friend.

“One of the coolest things? Sure, I can agree with that, since that also includes Megan as being the other.”

“You did _not_ just use my complaint as a way to flirt with her!”

“Calm down boys, I _swear_ you both never grow out of old habits.”

Isaac could only let out a laugh. Of course he hadn’t changed. The way he was is still just as fun now, even if he was older. Wu on the other hand? He had been so set on his future from day one, it’s no wonder that he’s still the same as he was when they first met him in High School. The only things he hadn’t had planned was meeting Isaac and Megan, and the other was getting married while still in college. Everything else was practically pre-planned and fell into place just like Wu had wanted. It was pretty impressive, but Isaac would never verbally admit that to Wu, only because the other would then spend the time to try to convince Isaac to do the same. Plans weren’t exactly his thing. 

“And Mason, be nicer to him. He _did_ just give us a great night of business.”

“I suppose so.”

“Oh come _on_ , don’t act like you weren’t just as happy.”  
The night had been great. Everyone had enjoyed themselves, the drinks, and the food. There was laughter, smiles, all the good shit that Isaac was happy that could happen. He had been real about what he said to Tucker. He wasn’t about to stand around and watch Megan start crying because of no one showing for the second day in a row. The first day had pissed him off to no end, and to see it start happening a second time? It just wasn’t going to pass well with him. He didn’t even care that he had to wear a stupid little maid outfit to get Tucker and Blondie to show. It was for Megan, and in the end, she was overjoyed, and he couldn’t ask for more. Plus, he got a free outfit out of it, so who was the one _really_ humiliated? Definitely not him. 

Eventually he pushed himself up from the counter to switch back into his normal clothes. As cool as the outfit was, it wasn’t exactly one for the public.  
“Alright, ready to go?” He asked as soon as he was out of the bathroom, the maid outfit folded and neatly tucked underneath his arm as he held his phone in the other hand. 

“Yeah, everything has been put away. Time for more drinks back at Isaac’s place!” Megan cheered, rushing herself out of the restaurant door leaving Isaac and Wu to quickly trail after her. 

“Megan! Slow down a little! Wu has old man legs, you know that!”

\--

“Megan! Slow down a little! Wu has old man legs, you know that!”

There was his cue, and just like that his eyes had slowly shifted open, quickly gathering his surroundings. Still on the bench, still unbothered by anyone else that he didn’t want the attention of. Good.  
He focused his sight on the now fleeing bodies of Isaac and his friend as they tried to catch up with Megan and stood, not even bothering to stretch the ache in his upper back as he started trailing behind them. He could tell the mood had been lifted, especially with how Isaac had acted, laughing and practically chasing after his friend with no care in the world. It was amazing to watch, to look at, to just see how unbothered he was in this moment. Something he hadn’t seen when Isaac would come to the basement to clean. Price had put him such situations that refrained Locus from seeing such...wonderful sights of him, of his expressions. He kept a lot from him, a lot that he would have to seek out himself now. 

“Wait a minute, why are we going to _my_ place?”

“You have the fun drinks there, duh. The most Mason and I have at home is wine, and that’s not exactly for the type of mood we’re going to be in.” Megan had explained to him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling him close as they continued walking. 

He watched as Isaac only shook his head, reaching over Megan to drag down Mason with them, laughing as said male had stumbled at the tug and from the awkward walking he had to do just to remain in the proximity. 

They really were good friends weren’t they?


	4. Chapter 4

Isaac’s place looked surprisingly normal. Locus wasn’t sure what he thought the place would look like, but it definitely wasn’t an average one or two bedroomed house. He knew Isaac was a little short on the money side, so maybe that was what clouded his prediction of it, unless the house was new with the newer money the other had been making doing the dirtier deeds of Price. Still, it was relieving to see Isaac at least living comfortably. 

The trio of friends had already been inside for over an hour and a half already while Locus once again remained outside and distanced. He was trying to come up with something to say once he decided to finally knock, but he was only coming up with blanks. A simple ‘I killed your boss and my captor, can I stay with you?’ wouldn’t be enough, and in fact just be even more of a slap to the face for Isaac. He needed something that would get his point across without causing any negative emotions for the other. Nothing came up. Maybe he would have to go with the simple option? Or he could just go for a ‘hello’ and wait for Isaac to question him on what happened to answer him? A greeting seemed good enough.

He glanced around him, looking, watching for once again any possible person that could be watching him as he made his way to the house, which now seemed to loom over him in an intimidating manner. The door only looked like an enemy to him. Something he needed to get past to get to Isaac, to feel okay again, to feel like it was worth it. He raised his hand to knock, but paused. What would his reaction be upon seeing him? He knew he shouldn’t let these thoughts worry him again, but he couldn’t help it. Would the other be upset? Happy? Angered? Would Isaac even let him set foot into the house? Or would he just be shooed away like some vermin? He let out a shaky breath as he shook his head, and knocked on the door. 

\--

“Are you guys going to pick a fucking movie or what? We’ve been sitting here for-fucking-ever just debating.” Isaac huffed, arms crossed as he let himself sink into the cushions of the couch. Megan was sitting on the floor in front of him with Wu, looking at the movies Isaac had on DVD and what was available on Netflix. 

“Well we would have had a movie on an hour ago if it wasn’t for a certain _someone_ being picky about the kind of movies he watches.” Megan glanced over to Wu, who only frowned in response. 

“I just don’t think horror is a good genre for celebration is all. Why not some of the better options? Comedy? Slice of life?”

“What’s next, romance?” It was a sarcastic suggestion, but Megan piped up on how it was a good idea. Nothing like a cheesy romance movie to get you in the drinking mood. Not because it was good or for the celebration, no, it was just to forget the movie by morning.  
“Megan, you know I have work tomorrow night, do you want me hungover _that_ badly?”

“It’s a two to one vote, so your opinion is vetoed!”  
“When the fuck did Wu vote?”

A knock sounded on the door, catching the attention of the three of them. Isaac only sighed as he got up from his comfortable position. 

“I’ll go get it, just get the movie on.”

He rolled his eyes at the little cheer Megan had given off as he walked to the front. Who the hell could it be that late at night anyway? Mail service didn’t work at this time of night even if it was just junk that they were giving. He didn’t order anything, so no package either. Tucker and his crew all went home, so it couldn’t be any of them, plus, they had no clue where he had lived anyway. Parents were a no-go and he remained no contact with his neighbors, so really, no one should be knocking on the door. 

Still, he turned the knob, pulling open the door with a fake smile on his face to show how much he’d rather be sitting down.  
“Yeah? What can I-” He stared at the person standing in front of him. Really _stared_. Real hard, just to make sure that it wasn’t his eyesight fucking with him. It really couldn’t be him, could it?

“Megan, sweetie, did you, oh, I don’t know, put something in my drink by any chance?” He questioned, glancing behind him towards the living room. Surely this couldn’t be real. _It couldn’t_.

“Isaac, honey, as much as I love you for helping me out tonight, I don’t like you enough to do that.” That was his answer. It really was him. 

“Alright, just making sure.” His throat felt dried as he put his focus back on the man patiently waiting at the door for him. He didn’t know what to say, and it was clear the other didn’t as well. They just...stared at one another before Isaac could finally choke out a small, “L-Locus…?”

Something had changed in the other’s eyes, a quick flash that only he could see in that moment, before he was practically bodied into the floor, his breath being easily knocked out of him. Locus was now clinging to him, as if he was something that hadn’t been seen in years. He didn’t seem to care that they were on the floor, or that the front door was still wide open for the rest of the world to see, and in that moment Isaac couldn’t seem to care either, only grabbing Locus’s face to get a good look at it again, a _real_ smile on his face now. 

“What the fuck? I mean- How the fuck? I-Holy shit Locus! How the hell did you?-”

Locus’s face changed to a more gloomy one, removing his face from Isaac’s hands to bury it in his neck instead. “He’s dead...I’m sorry…” He muttered, not even wanting to see what Isaac had thought. 

“What? You think I give a shit? I mean, yeah, I’m gonna need a new job, which does suck serious ass, but you’re out of that fucking shitty basement! You think I’m going to get mad at a fucking survivor? I thought you knew me.” He said, playfully huffing to assure the other he wasn’t upset. Finding a new job in cleaning should be easy, especially if he hits up the lower side of town. Sure, the pay would definitely never be the same, but again, Locus was out, he was free, and he was okay with that, and if it ever came down to it, he could always get a second job or just altogether find a job in his actual field of study. He had enough money from Price to keep himself comfortable for at least a month or two, he could manage. 

“What’s going on over here?”

He lifted his head a bit to look over to Wu, now standing by the little hallway that had connected the living room to the front door. He wasn’t looking at Isaac though, he was looking at Locus, and the type of look that it was? _Recognition_ , and not the good type either. It was set in stone as soon as he saw the same look in Locus’s eyes when they met with Wu’s. 

“Hey, big guy, I need you to hop off of me for a second alright? I gotta close the door.” It was a weak attempt of a distraction, but at least his request wasn’t ignored. Though he looked upset, Locus got up off of him and pulled him to his feet as well.  
Brushing off his clothes first, he then shut the door before turning to look back to the other two with him. It looked like one of those cliche Old Western stand-offs in the exaggerated cowboy movies. He wondered who would win.  
“Did you guys start the movie yet?”

“Oh- Uh...Yeah, I was just- just checking in on you.” Wu replied, his eyes still not leaving Locus, causing Isaac to roll his eyes.

“I’ll be over there in a minute, don’t leave Megan so lonely over there. Shoo.”

“But-”

“Mason Wu if you don’t get your ass back to your wife this second-”

“Fine, fine!”

He made sure to watch Wu, just so he knew the other wasn’t still eavesdropping from the other side of the wall or the end of the hallway. Glancing over to Locus, he studied the expression on his face. He wasn’t happy to see Wu, and Wu wasn’t happy to see him. Did they have a past together? Maybe in the middle school days. In high school he was always around him and Megan, there was no way, unless...He shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. He shouldn’t make up accusations without information. If Locus didn’t say anything, and if Wu didn’t say anything, then it couldn’t have been _that_ bad, right?  
A hand grabbed the hem of his shirt, Locus holding on to it as if he were a young, lost child in need of guidance. It was definitely cute, especially for someone as big as him.

“Do you want to watch the movie too? It’s a really fucking cheesy romance story, like, Hallmark level of horrible when it comes to the cliches. I’ll grab you something to eat too if you’re hungry.” He asked, looking up to the slightly taller male. He didn’t verbally answer other than a simple nod. “Alright, why don’t you go sit down? Wu isn’t gonna bite, Megan might but you can bite her back.”

Locus then shook his head, “I...would prefer staying with you.”

That had caught him a little off guard, but he quickly recovered, “If that’s what you want. C’mon, the kitchen is this way.” He started walking, figuring that, since Locus was holding onto his shirt, he’d follow. He made a quick stop to poke his head into the living room, “I’m going to the kitchen, anything you full-sized gremlins want?”

“A sandwich!”

“Isn’t that _your_ job Megan?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean- Yes, my love, I’ll get my ass right on that.” He laughed before looking over to Wu, who simply said that he was fine. He shrugged before leading Locus into the kitchen, already heading into one of the cabinets to grab the bread and two plates. “Since I’ve been nominated as the group’s wife for tonight, you want a sandwich too? I have to say I can make a mean ass Taylor ham.”

“Taylor ham…?”

“Uh, yeah?” He said incredulously, eyeing Locus from the sideline as he gathered what he needed, “Also known as a pork roll? Y’know, one of New Jersey’s many good sandwiches? It was _the_ sandwich I would _always_ end up getting growing up when my dad was around and too lazy to make me something at home.”

“Oh…” Locus paused before wiping his hands off of his pants, “Then, yes, I would like one.”

“Loosen up a little, man. Price is dead and Wu’s a pussy. Nothing's gonna happen to ya, especially on my watch, so there’s no need to be so nervous.” He calmly said, getting the pan ready before he set it on the stove before switching it on. He grabbed a small bowl and handed it to Locus, putting two eggs in the other. “One is for you, the other is for Megan. Ladies first, so just crack one, and, here- then mix it, when it’s mixed, pour it into the pan,” He explained, placing a fork into the bowl and then moving Locus over in front of the stove. “It’s easy, alright? Let me know when you think it needs to get flipped and I’ll come check. Oh, and make sure no egg shells get into the bowl, if you see any, pick em out.”  
While Locus was on egg duty, he would be the one getting the ham set up as well as the bread toasted. The read would be easier and took less time, so he took out four slices and placed them into the toaster (which was a gift from Megan when he first got the house). Then he started on the ham. 

He glanced over to Locus, making sure he was doing alright since he was being more silent than usual. It was pretty amusing to him to see someone his size pouring the egg so carefully into the pan, as if one wrong move would fuck up the world.  
“So, how’d you find my place?”  
The laugh that almost escaped him as he watched Locus drop the bowl into the pan, taking a sharp inhale as he scrambled to quickly take it out before it was messed up was something he probably wouldn’t ever forget. “Sorry, did I ask something I wasn’t supposed to?” 

“No-No that isn’t…” Locus paused, gears clearly struggling to turn in his head as he probably thought of a way to explain himself. Good thing Isaac had time to wait for an answer. “I...found the restaurant from your basebook post and…”

“Followed me home?” He mused, wondering just how long Locus had been outside without him knowing. “Why didn’t you just come inside? Megan could have been the one to make you something.”

“I didn’t want to intrude. It was still your night, and my presence would have ruined that. Especially with…” He stopped himself again before he made it clear he wasn’t continuing. 

“That’s pretty bull, you know that right?” Isaac asked, a hand resting on his hip as he walked over to make sure the egg wasn’t burning, grabbing the spatula on his way over, “The most that would have happened is a little pause, just a small one. Everyone was pretty much drunk and none of them would have cared or would have remembered by morning. Maybe Mikey would’ve given you a hug, and Wu a little look just as he did at the door, but again, that’s it.” The egg was thankfully fine, and he dug the spatula under, doing a small little countdown from three before flipping it so it could cook on the other side. “Did you see anything else on my basebook?”

“No, just the angry post about no one showing.”

He gently shook his head, clicking his tongue in fake disappointment, “A shame really, I have some fun stuff on there you probably would have liked. I know the older fuckers really dig it.” He then shrugged his shoulders as he took the now cooked egg from the pan, “Get your egg ready and pour it in.”

Megan’s sandwich had been completed, and so he left the kitchen just for a moment, figuring everything would have been okay.  
“Your majesty, your meal has arrived.” He gave a curt bow as he handed the plate over. 

“How much longer will you be? You’re missing a lot of movie plot.” She took the plate from his hands, smiling she took a bite from it. 

“I have one more sandwich to make and it’s for the big guy. After that we’ll join you.”

“You left him alone in the kitchen?” Wu interjected, his brows furrowed as a frown was etched onto his features. 

“You frown like that any more Wu and you’re bound to get wrinkles,” Isaac chided as a response, “And so what if I did? He’s on egg duty, meaning he’s too busy to stab me.”

“You shouldn’t have so much trust in him-”

“Oh quit it Wu. If I get hurt, that's on _me_ , he caught me slipping. Not that he’d ever fucking hurt me anyway.”  
Wu didn’t get much of a chance to say anything else as Isaac made his way back to the kitchen. Though, as soon as he was close enough, he could see something move out of sight from the doorway.  
“Eavesdropping isn’t polite, Locs.” He hummed, walking through the doorway and to the spot directly beside said male. 

Locus remained quiet as he stared down at the pen, watching as the uncooked egg bubbled in some places, and in others gave off small pops. 

“Locus? You alright there?” Placing a hand on Locus’s shoulder, he tried to get a better look at the other’s face. Was there something he was hiding?

“He doesn’t want me here.”

“It’s my house, he can’t tell me who I can and can’t have in my own home.”

“But-”

Isaac reached up to grab Locus by the face, making him look him in the eyes as he held a stern expression, “No, Locus, no. This is _my_ house. _I_ paid for it, not fucking Wu, okay? He can’t tell me who >em>I can have in _my_ house. Understood?”

He could tell Locus looked unsure, but after a moment he nodded his head, relaxing into his hands. It was a cute sight for sure. 

“Plus, I would totally kick your ass if you tried to hurt any of us, just like I did the day we first met.”

“You only hit me with a broom.”

“Yet it got you to leave me alone and clean, did it not?”

“I was just in shock with how much a twig like you had the courage to hit me.”

He snorted lightly as he took his hands back to flip the egg still in the pan, “Listen, it’s the fight response in me, I can’t help that. Flight isn’t in my vocabulary for me to use it.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed with that mindset.” Locus replied, his hand making it’s way back to gripping the bottom of Isaac’s shirt. 

“What do you mean get myself killed? I’d be such a _badass_ , and maybe get a scar or two in return. Then the ladies will have no choice but to be all over me ‘cause scars are hot as fuck.” It was a shame he couldn’t see Locus’s reaction to his statement. He felt the grip on his shirt tighten, but he was paying too much attention to the pan in front of him to see.  
“Anyway, I’ve always been a fighter and I’m still here with zero scars or crippling wounds. You’re looking at the champion of highschool fights and two bar brawls.”

“How did you manage two bar brawls?”

“Creepy fuckers wouldn’t leave Megan alone and again, Wu’s a pacifist pussy. If they had touched her I guess he would have fought. If they had me in a puddle on the floor? He’d scoop my ass into a glass and probably scold me on the way to the hospital.

“You have...quite the imagination.”

“Why thank you, my mother gave it to me.”

And the chatter only continued until Locus’s sandwich was finished. 

“Here you go big guy, now come on, we have a cheesy romance for Megan to catch us up on.”  
He handed the plate to Locus, who held it in his other hand before he led them out of the kitchen and into the living room with the other two. Wu was once again baring holes into Locus’s skull as Isaac motioned for him to sit on the couch and get comfortable. 

“Isaac.”

“Can it wait Wu?”

“No.” The other answered through gritted teeth, getting up from his spot to go and grab Isaac’s arm, pulling him out of the room while the other protested and complained, leaving Megan and Locus alone in the living room.


	5. Chapter 5

“Where are they going?” Locus found himself asking, taking only small bites from his sandwich as he nervously waited for Isaac’s return. 

“Probably to go argue.” Megan admitted. At least she was honest in her words, but it only made his worries worse as he watched her raise the volume of the T.V by two. 

“Is that normal?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “Depends on what the fight is about. It’s not an everyday occurrence though if that’s what you mean. Trust me, it was kind of scary at first for me too when I witnessed one of them, but it doesn’t get too bad.”

He nodded his head slightly as he glanced at the movie. Isaac was right, it was horribly cliche, but he wasn’t going to complain too much since he couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he’d last seen a movie.  
If you had asked him how much time had passed before he could start to hear the other two’s voices even through the raised volume of the T.V, he wouldn’t be able to tell. All he knew was that they were both pissed off, and it was probably- well, most likely- about him. He glanced towards Megan, seeing if she was even a bit concerned like he was, but still nothing had shown that she was, her focus directly on the T.V and what it was showing. His food was still sitting on his plate, half-eaten at this point, but he wasn’t going to be able to finish it, not while Isaac was still gone. 

“Do you want me to check on them? You keep looking like you’re going to pop a vein.”

“If you could...please…” He muttered. He felt pathetic about it, but if she knew what she was doing since it was normal for her, it was best if she was the one to go. He would probably only make it worse if Wu saw him anywhere near anyway. 

Megan calmly paused the T.V, the screaming of Isaac and Wu more clear and almost frightening. 

\--

“ _No_! You don’t get to treat me like a fucking _child_ and scold me! You aren’t my fucking parent!”  
Isaac made sure to keep his distance from Wu. He wouldn’t know what he would do if he was any closer, or if Wu was anywhere within arms reach of him. It had all started out because Wu once again was telling him to kick Locus to the curb, that he wasn’t safe, blah, blah blah. He wasn’t going to, and he was standing by it, which caused Wu to get anger and lead to Isaac getting angrier.

“Well _someone_ needs to be because your parents never gave enough of a shit about you to! Then again, I can see why they didn’t fucking want you because you’re too fucking _insufferable_ to deal with!”

“Mason Wu!”

“What the fuck-” Wu looked over, seeing Megan standing at the doorway with her arms crossed and a disappointed look on her face, “What is it, Megan?”

“We’re leaving.”

“I’m not done here-”

“We’re _leaving_.”

Wu kept his mouth shut as he stared at her, and then shifted his eyes to Isaac, who’s faraway look was directed to the wall behind him.  
“Fine.” He made his way over to her, pushing past Isaac. She shook her head at him as she turned to walk towards the door, opening it and motioning Wu outside. He didn’t want to argue, so he simply listened. 

Isaac snapped back into reality, turning his head to look towards Megan who waited for him to say something, anything to reassure her that he was going to be okay without them for the night. He walked towards the door in silence, his eyes locking onto Wu with the same faraway look as before. Megan knew it all too well. 

“Isaac, please don’t, okay?” She asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder before following after Wu. 

“Hey Wu-”

“Isaac, come on, you don’t need to argue anymore!”

“-If you want to be my dad so bad, why don’t you go get some cigarettes and come back in two to three years? You have his attitude on point already.”

“ _That’s it_.”

“Mason!”

He could feel the smile on his face grow as he watched Wu storm up to him with fists clenched at his sides. Everything surrounding them disappeared. Right there, it was him and Wu.  
He was going to fight, and he was going to love it, every second of it. Not because He wants to fight Wu in particular, but because he was threatened. He didn’t need a _mom_ , he didn’t need a _dad_ , and he didn’t need _parents_ , and right now he didn’t need _friends_. It was just like back then, how it had always been from the start. Even as Wu’s fist collided into his face, seemingly in slow-motion, he kept his joy rather clear. It was an escape, an opportunity, freedom.  
It was everything he wanted.

\--

“Mason, stop it! You’re hurting him! Isaac!”

What the hell was going on out there? One moment Megan gets up to check on them, and the next there’s more screaming with Megan’s own. She sounded frightened. Something was wrong.  
He quickly stood, rushing to get outside to help, to do _something_ \- _anything_. He froze at what he was forced to see. 

Wu was standing above Isaac, who was just below him, keeping Wu’s foot from making contact with his throat despite how much harder the other was putting his force into it. Isaac was bleeding, but it was difficult to pinpoint where exactly the blood was coming from. Some seemed to be coming from his now busted lip, but it could have also come from his nose where more was plastered onto his skin. Or, it could have been from his head where it was slammed against the hard ground below him. Or maybe it was from all the places he had just named at once. Wu was shouting something at Isaac, but he couldn’t process any of it. 

Even when he was covered in blood, and the possibility of his face being fucked up for a while, it was as if there was a fire burning in Isaac’s eyes. A danger waiting to grow, to engulf, and to claim. A part of him was amazed. 

In just a split moment, the scene in front of him had changed, and Isaac was now on top of Wu, straddling him and holding him down by the neck as he raised his other hand above him. He was intending on hitting him until his knuckles were worn down to just bone, and probably even further than that. The almost desperate hands of Wu grasped at Isaac, trying to keep him still, to hold him down enough to get the advantage again, but Isaac wasn’t having any of it. He was proving a point. It was a lesson, and Isaac was the teacher with his fist as the work. This was Isaac’s moment, and no matter what Wu would do, he wasn’t going to let it up.  
He couldn’t let them keep fighting. Megan wasn’t going to step in, he could tell just by the fearful expression she held and how she could only yell for them to stop. A part of him was surprised that none of the nearby neighbors had come to complain about the amount of noise that was being made. 

Before he knew what exactly he was doing, he was right there beside them, and he had reached out and grabbed Isaac’s arm. Slowly, Isaac’s head had turned to look at his hand, and then to him, as if processing the real world around him. His arm had gone limp in his hand, and cautiously he let go of him, watching as it tiredly fell to Isaac’s side. 

“S-...Sorry Megan…” He spoke so quietly, and in such a soft tone it may have been hard to have heard him. He went to stand, but his legs had given out from below him, and he once again hit the ground, this time next to Wu. “You...you’re s-...such a fucking asshole Wu…”  
“...So I’ve been told.” The other croaked, weakly rubbing at his throat. The two of them just remained there on the ground together, and Locus and Megan didn’t even move to help them up. 

“Depending on where...where we are tomorrow, are you-...you still coming by? For…” Isaac paused, thinking for a moment before he continued,”For lunch? With Megan?”

“Mhmm…Lunch…”

Locus was amazed at how they already were making up, and hell, making sure past plans were still in action. They both either shared brain-damage or they were really just done fighting. 

“I’ll...call a cab, for Mason and I.” Megan finally said after a while more of watching the two bumbling fools on the floor talk to each other. “You should get Isaac inside and cleaned up.”

“Will you be okay with getting him in the car?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, just get Isaac inside, okay? He’s going to be hurting in the morning.”

He nodded his head and bent down beside him, moving an arm underneath his legs, and the other under his neck before lifting him up. 

“W-whoa...Wedding day already? Did...Did I miss the dates?” Isaac muttered as he strained his head to try and see where Megan was, “Did I miss the date Megan?”

“You didn’t miss anything,” Locus replied to him, making his way back into the house as he gently kicked the door shut behind him. “Where’s your room?” He then questioned. Isaac lifted his arm and pointed instead of giving a verbal answer, but he was probably just saving his energy at this point. 

Making his way through the house, he opened the door to which was in the direction Isaac pointed him to. Sure enough, it was Isaac’s bedroom. It was surprisingly simple. A bed in the middle of the room with a nightstand next to it. A closet that was embedded to the room’s walls with a T.V of it’s own mounted to the wall across from the bed. There was round carpet underneath the bed, and two posters on another wall. On the bed, there was a...giant orange-tinted rabbit?

“A’rynnn…” The other whined in his arms, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. Locus could only sigh as he walked over to the bed and sat him down so he could sit against the headboard. 

“Isaac, do you have a first aid kit? You can’t go to bed bleeding.”

“In-...In the bathroom, under the sink.” He answered before patting his legs to get the oversized rabbit to come over to him, “A’ryn come here, come on.”  
The bathroom should be easier to find. If Isaac’s bedroom was in that area of the house, and the living room was over there, then the bathroom would reasonably be somewhere in the middle. He did his best to hurry, not knowing what Isaac would do in a delirious state while alone, and he didn’t want to wait around and find out. After a minute or so he found the bathroom, opening the door and making the short bee-line to the sink. Sure enough, the first-aid was right there waiting for him as soon as he opened the cabinet doors. 

“Locus!”

He had _just_ left the room, what could have happened already? He got up and made his way back. “What is it?”

Isaac looked over to him, a small look of relief on his face mixed with slight pain, “I thought…” He started to say before breaking down into mumbles, shaking his head. 

Locus walked over, sitting himself down beside Isaac as he started on opening the kit. “I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“I thought you left.”

His brows furrowed slightly as he took one of the cleaning wipes from the kit, making Isaac look to him so he could start cleaning up the drying blood. It felt as thought he was returning the favor for all the times Isaac made sure he was the one who was cleaned. “Why would I leave when you’re hurt?” He asked, frowning at the dark bruises that had started to form on Isaac’s face. A black eye, a bruised nose, and more smaller bruises littering his cheeks and jaw around his busted lip. He was going to kill Wu. Well...not literally, since that would definitely upset Isaac and Megan, but mentally, the man was already dead. 

“Because I’m a piece of shit?” Isaac chuckled gently, “Wu said so himself.” He added, gently pulling his face away from Locus. Whatever he and Wu had argued about was clearly seeping into his thoughts, and Locus didn’t like one bit of it.

“Why are you listening to him?”

“Because it’s true isn’t it? I left you in a fucking _basement_ in fucking _chains_ for almost a year! I don’t even _want_ to know the shit he did to you while I wasn’t there. I should’ve- I should’ve done _something_ \- I should’ve gotten the fucking bolt cutters, or-or phoned the stupid fucking _police_ , but I didn’t, because I’m a piece of shit and a _coward_.”

Locus grunted, grabbing at Isaac’s face again to keep eye contact between them. “You are _not_ a coward. You did what you could in the situation, and I _understand_ that.”

\--

“You’re just saying that to make me fucking feel better. I’m a coward and you _know_ it and you know what cowards look like. Wu told me while spewing his usual bullshit about how irresponsible I was. He told me about the shit you two did together when he was disappearing at night. I’m just like that Lozano kid, aren’t I? I can’t do shit for myself besides getting myself into deeper _shit_.” He was rambling, he was upset and rambling. He felt like such a little fucking kid and it only made him feel worse, but at the same time he couldn’t care enough to stop. Maybe he _needed_ to feel like shit. Maybe he needed to know what feeling like shit felt like, maybe he needed to experience how bad a feeling it could get. 

Wu was right. He was nothing more than a bratty kid. A kid who gets upset when he can’t get what he wants. A kid, who was lucky to even have parents that decided to keep him around, who just wanted more and more. 

He was just a greedy little shit, and that’s why he was able to look Locus in the eye with every word he spoke, every word he let past his lips. He was serious about what he was saying, and he wanted Locus to know that too. He was a coward for leaving him in the basement, he was a coward for cleaning all that shit up for Price, and he was a coward to especially be doing it for higher pay. He didn’t understand how Locus could still look at him with such a soft expression. He couldn’t understand and it pissed him off. He didn’t deserve that kind of look, not from him. 

“Maybe Price would have done me a fucking favor if he had decided to just fucking get rid of me.”

“ _Isaac!_ ”

He jumped at the sudden raise in Locus’s tone, looking back at him with widened eyes. There he went again, fucking shit up even further. 

Locus was upset now. Not angry, but upset at what he had said. His face was held tighter, and for a split moment he thought Locus was finally going to crush his skull in and end it all right then and there. 

“I-” 

“ _Don’t_ ,” Locus slightly growled, “Don’t you _ever_ say something like that again, do you hear me?

“Y-yes,” Isaac found himself answering quickly, gulping. “But-”

\--

“Y-yes, but-”

He didn’t want to hear another excuse or another thing Wu had apparently told him in their argument. He didn’t want to hear it anymore. He especially didn’t want to hear it from Isaac. Not _his_ Isaac.

...His Isaac? At this point they had known each other for about a year. Isaac had seen more of him than anyone else had, hell, he even bathed him. Would it be safe to say such a thing?  
Looking at Isaac now, the bruises all over his face, the frustration in his eyes. Yeah, it would be safe to say so. 

Hearing the other try to give another bullshit excuse, or a bullshit argument, only fueled his confidence more in this moment. He leaned forward, quickly to give Isaac no time to say something, and pressed his lips roughly against the other’s.  
This was someone he knew, someone who cared about him and took the time to care for him. He was never angry with him, and was gentle whenever it came to touching him. Isaac cared about him and Locus thrived in it. He thrived under the attention, the affection, the touches, the sympathy, anything Isaac had given him. He didn’t care about the circumstances in which they met, he was just happy that they _met_. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would have lasted if he hadn’t met Isaac at all. 

\--

He was being kissed. Kissed by Locus. He wasn’t imagining it, right? It was really him doing the kissing? It felt real, and his lips felt so…

His hands moved to hold onto Locus’s arms as he pushed into the kiss more. If this was how all Locus’s kisses were, he didn’t want to see the end of it. He felt calmer, more relaxed, and more level-headed. Locus was really there and kissing him. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed before Locus had pulled away. He didn’t know what to say as they looked at eachother. He leaned in to kiss him again. It was shorter this time, but it felt just the same as the first and he loved it. He hated to pull away. 

“If Price had killed you, I wouldn’t have gotten to do that.” Locus muttered, using his thumb to trace the outline of one of the bruises on Isaac’s face. 

“I would have missed out on a lot.” He finally managed to get out after a moment of silence. He reached over to wrap his arms around Locus’s neck, pulling him close and after laying back onto the bed, pulling him on top of him. “You’re staying with me now.”

“I’d be stupid to complain about that.”

Isaac laughed, and even Locus let himself chuckle.  
He held on tight to Locus, still afraid of the possibility that he was dreaming, or Wu knocked him into a coma and he was going to wake up at any moment. Though, having the other hold on to him just the same made him relieved.

It didn’t take long for him to pass out, and after realizing he was trapped, Locus followed soon after, with A’ryn resting right besides them like the lazy giant he was.


End file.
